Cooling bed



G. l.. Fisk COOLING BED Aug.j s, 1933.

T'EL.

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COOLING BED Filed Feb. 8, 195o 4 sheets-sheet 2 G. L. F|sK` COOLING BED Aug. 8, 1933.

Filed Feb; 8. 1930 Aug. 8, 1933. A G. L. -FlsK 1,921,353

COOLING BED Filed Feb. 8, 1950 -4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Aug.` 8, 1933 PATENTl OFFICE COOLING BED Gustaf L. Fisk, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Mesta Machine Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a Corporation of Pennsylvania,

Application February 8,

24 Claims.

'I'he present invention relates to cooling beds for hot metal bars and particularly to that type of cooling bed in which the hot bars are, while cooling, arranged in close pack formation in order that each bar shall slowly give up its heat and be uniformly annealed.

A cooling bed of the above mentioned type comprises means for feeding hot bars, delivered from the run-in table of a rolling mill, on to a section of the bed in such manner as to form a close pack of bars, from which cooled bars are withdrawn at one side at substantially the same rate that hot bars are added at the other side, so that the size of the pack remains substantially constant during the entire pack-annealing process, the individual bars travelling through the pack step-by-step in contact vwith bars on either side and being thus gradually cooled and uniformly annealed. In the pack annealing of relatively thin flat bars, known as spring iiats, which do not stand on edge without lateral support, means are provided for supporting .the pack during formation thereof, such means being withdrawn after the pack has been fully formed and the pack being thereafter supported by two l or three bars turned over at the cooled side.

The present invention contemplates the provision of improved means, in a cooling bed of the abovel mentioned type, forv laterally supporting the pack of bars during formation thereof; of improved means for feeding bars to the pack, of improved means for handling the bars prior to delivery thereof to the pack in such manner as to cause the bars to be delivered in a substantially straight condition; and of otherimportant improvements in the structural details of be'clsof this type, as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, which show one practical form of the invention:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a cooling bed embodying the present improvements;

Figure 2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a side view of a guide and an abutment movable therein adapted to support the pack during formation thereof;

Figure 4 is an end View of Fig. 3;

Figure 5 is a section on line 5- 5 of Fig. 3;

Figures 6 and 7 are side and end views, respectively, of the abutment;

Figures 8, 9 and 10 are partial vertical sections, showing different stages in the handling of the bars; and

1930. Serial No. 426,876

Figure 11 is a cross section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 2.

Hot bars from a rolling 'mill are conveyed to a position alongside the cooling bed on a run-in table comprising positively driven rollers 12, in a manner well understood, and the bars are adapted to be kicked off the run-in table broadside on to the cooling bed by mechanism also well known in the art.

The cooling bed, with which the present invention is particularly concerned, comprises a stepped section A composed of downwardly inclined aprons 13 and 14 and stops 15 and 16. This stepped section of the bed is supported at its upper end on structural steel bars 17, which in turn are supported on laterally spaced and downwardly inclined parallel skid bars 18. The lower end o'f the stepped section isasupported on a beam 19 carried by a frame 20. The skid bars 18 are supported at their upper ends by a beam 21 and at their lower ends by a beam 22. The cooling bed also includes a downwardly inclined section B upon which the bars received from stepped section A are arranged in pack formation, allowed to cool, and from which they are individually discharged. Section B is composed of grid members 23, supported on the beams 19 and 22, and the lower portions of the skid bars 18 which project through cut away portions 24 of stepped section A. The upper surfaces of the skid bars and grid members are located in the same inclined plane so as to present a smooth plane surface along which the bars are adapted to slide.

Two setsoilplungers 25 and 26 located at the lower ends of aprons 13 and 14, respectively, are provided for lifting bars from the lower end of apron 13 to the. upper end of apron 14, and from the lower endof the latter to the upper end of section B. Plungers 25 and 26 are reciprocable in inclined guide ways 27 and 28, respectively, the i -prises a rock shaft 31 having arms 32 and 33 projecting from opposite sides lthereof and pivoted respectively to bars 34 and 35 which are connected to the plungers 25 and 26 b'y rods 36 and 37. Obviously, on turning rock shaft 31 in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 2) the plungers 25 will be raised and plungers 26 lowered, and on reversing the rotation of the shaft plungers 25 will be lowered and plungers 26 raised. These plungers are reciprocated once for each bar delivered from the run-in table.

As shown in Fig. 2, a bar has been raised by plungers 26 and plungers 25 are lowered below the surface of apron 13 so that a bar pushed off the-run-in table can slide down the apron and come to rest against stop surface 15. When the bar lifted by plungers 26 has been moved on to the table section B, by mechanism to be described presently, and a second bar has been delivered from the run-in table against the .stop 15, shaft 31 is turned in a counterclockwise direction, 'lifting plungers 25 and lowering plungers 26, which raises the second bar slightly above the top of apron 14, whereupon said bar will slide by gravity off of the tops of plungers 25 and then clown apron 14, coming to rest against stop surface 16. It will be noted that the tops of the plungers are downwardly inclined at somewhat steeper angles than the inclined surfaces of the aprons, so that the sliding of the bars off of the plungers when the latter are raised is assured.

The above described manner of handling the hot-bars prior to their delivery to the pack serves a very important purpose, in that it assures substantial straightening of the bars prior to their addition to the pack and therefore facilitates the formation of a close pack and results in substantially straight cooled bars. The straightening of the bars is brought about by their impact against the stops 15 and 16 which have long straight stop surfaces. It will be understood that the bars have considerable momentum when striking these stops, and that the shocks resulting from the sudden arrest of their movement are sufficient to straighten out any irregularities therein, the bars being in a highly heated and relatively soft condition. Furthermore, the aprons 13 and 14 furnish practically un-interrupted support 'for the bars during their sliding movement and furnish substantial support for the bars when the shocks yare imparted, thus preventing sags and kinks in the bars and causing them to be straight in the sidewise, as well as edgewise, direction.

The present invention is particularly directed to a cooling bed adapted for the pack annealing of spring flats. Bars of this form are relatively thin as compared with their width and are therefore unable to stand on edge without some form of lateral support. One of the features of the present invention is the provision of improved means for supporting the bars on edge during the formation of the pack. The particular means shown for this purpose is a plurality of yielding abutments 38 located at suitably spaced points along the section B and guided for movement parallel to the section. These abutmentsmperate in guides, such as illustrated particularly in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Each guide con- Asists of a pair of elongated members 39`and 40 secured together at their lower" edges by bolts 41, member 40 being channel shaped in section so as to provide, with the opposed member 39,

a guide way for slidably retaining the associated guide of this construction is associated with each skid 18, being disposed between the skid and the adjacent grid member 23 and being supported at its upper and lower ends on the beams 19 and 22, respectively. Adjacent the lower end of the guide, the bottom wall of member 40, along which the-stop 38 slides, has a sharp downward turn, so that the stop will, when it reaches this point in its travel, assume the position shown in dotted lines on Fig. 3, it being noted that in this position the stop is Withdrawn entirely below the upper edge of the guide. The stops 38 are secured to cords 43 which pass over pulleys 44 suitably journaled below apron' 14 and are attached to weights 45, whereby the stops are yieldingly held. against downward movement along their guides.

For the purpose of feeding bars to the pack 'on table section B and for feeding bars along this section, there is provided a plurality of pusher bars 46 formed at their forward ends with pusher heads 47. These pusher bars are slidably mounted in the skid bars 18, the latter being channeled for the purpose of housing the bars. Each of the pusher bars is formed with rack teeth on its lower side which is engaged by a pinion 48 on a shaft 49.

In describing the operation of the cooling bedin carrying out a continuous process of pack annealing spring ats, it will be first assumed that no bars are present on the bed and that the movable elements associated with the bed are in the positions shown in Fig. 2. When the first bar coming from the rolling mill reaches the proper position on the run-in table for broadside movement on to the cooling bed, it is kicked 01T the run-in table on to the apron 13 down which it slides and comes to rest with a considerable impact against the stop vl5. Shaft 31 is then turned counterclockwise by a suitable means (not shown) to raise the plungers 25, carrying the bar, and to lower the plungers 26 below the plane of apron 14. -The bar carried by plungers 25 when brought above the top of apron 14 will slide oi the plungers and down said apron, coming to rest against the stop surface 16 with suiicient impact to correct any deviations' from straightness of the bar which were not corrected by its first impact against stop l5.

Shaft 31 is then turned clockwise back to its original position, which results in raising of the'y bar by plungers 26 and the lowering of plungers 25 below the plane of apron 13. Shaft 49 is now rotated in a counterclockwise direction (preferably by means of an electric motor and intermediate gearing) to move the pusher bars 46 to the position shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Immediately following this movement the shaft 49 is reversed and the pusher bars 46 returned to position of starting. The forward movement of pusher bars 46, it will be observed, causes the pusher heads 47 to engage the bar resting on the tops of plungers 26 and tilt the bar forwardly against the stops 38, so that the forward face of the bar now rests flush against the stops and the bottom edge of the bar rests squarely on table section B. Due to the downwardly inclined plane of the table, the bar will be correspondingly inclined from the vertical l and will therefore rest firmly against the stops.

During, or following, this operation a second bar is kicked off the run-in table and slides down the apron 13 to be brought to rest against stop 15. The pusher bars 47 are in the position shown in Fig. 2, wherein the heads 47 are below the plane of apron 14 and hence do not interfere with the movement of bars thereover, and the plungers 25 are raised while the plungers 26 are lowered, thereby raising the second bar and causing it to slide down apron 14 and be brought to rest against stop 16. It will be noted that the skids 18 have notches 50 to permit the hot bars to slide on apron 14 against stop 16. Plungers 26 are then raised while plungers 25 are lowered, and the pusher bars 46 are again brought forward to the position shown in Figs. 8 and 9 and returned to point of starting, moving the second bar carried by plungers 26 ush against the rst bar, the stops 38 yielding against the force of weights 45 to permit the second bar to be placed in the position formerly occupied by the first bar. The stops will remain in the position to which they are moved, as the weights are not sufficiently heavy to cause them to move against the frictional opposition of the bars resting on the table but are only designed to hold the stops flrmly against the rst bar so as to prevent the bars from overturn- The above described operations will be repeated for each bar delivered from the run-in table, and the bars will be gradually formed into a pack on the table section B. As the pack approaches its full size the abutments 38 will move down the inclined bottom walls of their guides and will be gradually withdrawn below the level of table section B, as shown in Fig. 9. Due to the withdrawal of the lateral support afforded by the stops, a few of the cooled bars will fall over and effectually support the remainder of-the pack. As hot bars continue to be fed the cooled and annealed bars will be pushed off table section B at substantially the same rate that bars are fed and will fall on suitable conveying means (not shown) to be delivered to shears or a place of storage.

When it is desired to discontinue the pack annealing process, the entire pack may be removed by moving the pusher bars 4'7 to the position shown in Fig. 10, these bars, of course, being moved back to their original position after the pack has been removed. It is here pointed out that the pusher heads 4'7I are formed with inclined backs, so that in their return movements they can pass beneath any bar that might be on table section B or on apron 14.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the cooling bed above described is not solely useful for the purpose of pack annealing spring flats or pack annealing other shapes, but can also be used in connection with well known forms of cooling bed sections for the handling and cooling of bars singly. For example, with the stops 38 depressed below the surface of bed section B, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, round bars deliveredL to"section B, after passing down the stepped apron sections and being straightened by impact against the stops 15 and 16, will roll down the inclined section B for deposit singly on to a secondary cooling bed section. Squares, ats, or other sections delivered in a similar manner may be pushed over the section B singly by movement of the pusher heads 47 to the position shown in Fig. 10.

Obviously, many changes may be made in the specic constructions described without departing from the principles of the invention and the scope` of the invention as set forth in the claims. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A cooling bed for hot metal bars comprising two inclined skids located one in advance of the other and in spaced planes, stops at the lower ends of said skids adapted to arrest movement of the bars, a set of reciprocating plungers adjacent the lower end of the first skid adapted to pass bars to the second skid, a second set of reciprocating plungers adjacent the lower end of the second skid adapted to pass bars to a bed section, said two sets of plungers being connected to move in opposite directions.

2. A cooling bed for hot metalbars comprising an inclined section down which bars are adapted to slide by gravity and a section on which bars are handled in pack formation having its end adjacent said inclined section at a higher level than the lower end of said inclined section, a stop between said sections adapted to arrest the bars, plungers located adjacent the lower end of said inclined section and mounted for movement in paths transverse thereto adapted to raise bars from the lower end of said inclined section -to the level of said second mentioned section, yielding abutments guided for movement along said second mentioned section, and reciprocating pushers adapted to engage bars raised by said plungers and turn them on edge on to said second mentioned section against the support of said abutments, the latter being guided to withdraw below the level of said second section when a pack of bars of predetermined size has been formed.

3. A cooling bed section for handling hot bars in pack formation comprising spaced parallel skid bars, guides supported alongside said skid bars, abutments movable in said guides normally projecting above the level of said skid bars, each of said abutments having two projections at the corners of its base, flexible connections carrying weights secured to said abutments and tending to hold said abutments yieldingly at one end of said section. and means for feeding flat bars on edge onto said section against the support of said abutments, said. guides being formed to withdraw said abutments, by virtue of said projections, below the level of said skid bars after a pack of bars of predetermined size has been formed.

4. A cooling bed section for handling bars in pack formation having aA downwardly inclined surface, guides supported along said section, yielding abutments movable in said guides normally projecting above the surface of said surface, each yielding abutment having projections at the corners of its base, and means for feeding flat bars on edge onto said section against the support of said abutments, said guides being formed to withdraw said abutments, by virtue of said projections, below said surface after a pack of bars of predetermined size has been formed.

5. A cooling bed for hot metal bars comprising two inclined stepped sections and a section in advance of said inclined stepped sections, two sets of plungers respectively located adjacent the lower ends of said stepped sections and mounted to reciprocate in paths transverse to the planes of said sections, a rock shaft mounted beneath said stepped sections, arms extending from opposite sides of said shaft, bars carried by said` arms respectively and rods connecting said bars to said plungers.

6. A cooling bed for hot metal bars, comprising a plurality of spaced downwardly inclined skid bars, an inclined stepped bed section supported by said skid bars having a steeper slope than said skid bars, said skid bars projecting in advance of said stepped section, guides supported alongside the projecting portions of said skid bars, yielding abutments movable in said guides, said skid bars having a channeled construction and pusher bars slidable therein, said pusher bars having heads projecting above the top surfaces of said skid bars, means for passing bars over the steps of said stepped section and onto said skid bars, and means for reciproca Ling said pusher bars.

'7. In a cooling bed for hot metal bars, in combination, a run-in table, a section adjacent said table for receiving bars from the run-in table, said section having a surface inclined downwardly from the run-in table and terminating in a stop disposed substantially parallel to the run-in table and a second surface inclined in the same direction and terminating in a second stop, a 'bed section, means for lifting a bar resting against the first stop onto the second inclined surface, and means for raising a bar resting against said second section to the level of the bed section.

8. In a cooling bed for hot metal bars, in combination, a section having a surface terminating in a stop, said surface being so inclined that bars deposited thereon freely slide down and come to rest against said stop but at a higher level, a bed section adjacent said stop, and a plunger for lifting bars resting against said stop to a point above the level of the bed section, the upper surface of said plunger being downwardly inclined toward the bed section wherebyv a bar thereon will slide toward the bed section when raised above the stop.

9. In a cooling bed for hot metal bars, in combination, a section having a surface terminating in a stop, said surface being so inclined that bars deposited thereon freely slide down and come to rest against said stop but at a higher level, a bed section adjacent said stop, means for lifting a bar resting against said stop to a point above the bed section, and means for thereafter engaging the bar and moving it onto the bed section. I

10. In a cooling bed for hot metal bars, in combination, a section having a surface terminating in a stop, said surface being so inclined that bars deposited thereon freely slide down and come to rest against said stop but at a higher level, a bed section adjacent said stop, a plunger for lifting a bar Iresting against said stop to a point above the bed section, and pushing mechanism for engaging the bar while'resting on the plunger and moving it onto the bed section, said mechanism also moving said bar across the bed section by forcing subsequent bars against it.

11. In a coolingA bed for hot metal bars, in combination, a section having a surface terminating in a stop, said surface being so inclined that bars deposited thereon freely slide down and come to rest against said stop, a bed section adjacent said stop, a second stop slidably mounted on the bed section, a plunger for lifting a bar resting against the first stop to a pointabove the bed section, the upper surface of the plunger being inclined so that the bar slides into contact'with the sliding stop when it has disengaged the rst stop, and pushing means for engaging the Abar while resting upon the plunger and in contact with the sliding stop and moving it onto the bed section, at the same time moving the sliding stop. f

12. A cooling bed for hot metal bars comprising, in combination, a downwardly inclined section along which bars kicked off of the run-in table of a rolling mill are adapted to slide by gravity, a stopfor interrupting the movement of bars sliding downsaid section, said stop being substantially continuous and disposed transversely to the direction of sliding movement of such bars, means for successively lifting bars which come to rest against said stop to a position adjacent the top of said stop, a bed section, and means for removing a bar, thus elevated, from the lifting means and moving it onto said bed section.

13. A cooling bed for hot metal bars comprising, in combination, a downwardly inclined section along which bars kicked off of the run-in table of a rolling mill are adapted to slide by gravity, a stop for interrupting the movement of bars sliding down said section, said stop being substantially continuous and disposed transversely to the direction of sliding movement of such bars, a bed section, and two independently operable means adapted to cooperate in lifting a bar from a position of rest against said stop to a position on said bed section.

14, A cooling bed for hot metal bars comprising, in combination, a downwardly inclined section along which bars kicked olf of the run-in table of a rolling mill are adapted to slide by gravity, a stop for interrupting the movement of bars sliding. down said section, said stop being substantially continuousgand disposed transversely to the direction of sliding movement of such.

bars, a bed section, yielding abutments on the bed section, and two independently operable means adapted to cooperate in lifting a bar from a position of rest against said stop to a position of rest upon the bed section and against said abutments, the' bar being turned during such movement through an acute angle about an axis extending longitudinally thereof.

15. A cooling bed for the pack annealing of flat bars which cannot stand Aon edge without lateral support comprising, in combination, a

bed section, yielding abutments mounted on the bed section, an inclined section, a stop intermediate the bed section and inclined section adapted to arrest the movement of bars sliding sidewise down said inclined section, means for lifting a bar up the face of said stop to an inclined position adjacent the top of the stop With one lower corner resting against the yielding abutments or against a preceding bar contacting with said abutments, and second means for removing said bar from said rst means, rotating the same through an acute angle about a longitudinal axis, and depositing the same against said abutments, or preceding bar, with its sides parallel to said abutments and normal to the surface of the bed section.

16. The combination set forth in claim 15 in which the first mentioned means comprises a plurality of spaced plungers, the upper bar engaging surfaces of which are disposed in a common plane disposed at an angle to the plane of the surface of the bed section.

17. The combination set forth in claim 15 in which said second means comprises a plurality of reciprocating plungers movable in parallel paths, apertures being provided in the inclined sectionthrough which said plungerspass in their reciprocating movements.

18. A cooling bed for the pack annealing of flat bars which cannot stand on edge Without lateral support comprising, in combination, a bed section having yielding abutments for supporting bars standing on edge, said abutments having supporting surfaces disposed substantially normally -to the surface of said section, means for positioning and supporting a bar adjacent the forward edge of said bed section with its sides disposed at an angle to the surface of the bed section and to the supporting surfaces of the abutments, and second means for moving the bar into position on the bed section with one side resting against said abutments or against a preceding bar supported by said abutments, said abutments yielding as the bar is moved into such position.-

19. In mechanism for delivering Work to the hot bed bars of a hot bed, the combination of approach delivery means for the Work, means for moving the Work from said approach delivery means, supporting means located laterally of said delivery means for supporting the Work removed from the delivery means, and means movable through variable distances for moving the Work along the said supporting means.

20. In mechanism for delivering Work to the hot bed bars of a hot bed, the combination of approach delivery means for the work, Work supporting means located laterally of the approach delivery means, means for transferring the Work from said approach delivery means to the said Work supporting means, the said transfer means comprising plungers arranged in pairs, means for causing the plungers of the respective pairs to move simultaneously in opposite directions for transferring the Work by steps to the said Work supporting means, and means which is adapted to engage the Work piece by piece and cause it to travel continuously from one side to the other of the said Work supporting means.

21. In mechanism for delivering work to the hot bed bars of a hot bed, the combination of approach delivery means for the work; work supporting means located' laterally ofthe said approach delivery means, means for transferring the said work from the said Work delivery means to the said work supporting means, the said transfer means comprising a plurality of pairs of plungers, means for simultaneously actuating the plungers of the respective' pairs in opposite di.- rections to eect step by step movement of the Work on to the said Work supporting means, and

variably moving means for causing the Work to move inwardly over the said work supporting means toward the hot bed bars.

22. Inv mechanism for delivering`work4 to the hot bed bars of a hot bed, the combination of approach delivery means for the work, work supl porting means located laterally of the said delivery means, means for transferring the work from the said delivery means to the said Work supporting means, and reciprocating push bars for engaging the work to cause it to move inwardly upon the work supporting means to deliver the same to the hot bed bars.

23. In mechanism for delivering work to the hot bed bars of a hot bed, the combination of approach delivery means for the work, stationary work supporting means located laterally of said approach delivery means, means for transferring the Work from the delivery means to the stationary Work supporting means, the said transfer means comprising a plurality of pairs of plungers, means for simultaneously actuating the plungers of all of the pairs alternately in opposite directions to transfer the Work step by step to the said stationary Work supporting means, and variably moving push bars adapted to engage the Work piece by piece as it is delivered onto the-said stationary Work supporting means to cause the same to move forward upon the said stationary" work supporting means from which it is delivered to the hot bed bars.

24. In mechanism for delivering work to the hot bed bars of a hot bed, the combination of l05 approach delivery means for the work, stationary Work supporting means located laterally of the said delivery means, means for transferring the Work from the said delivery means to the said stationary work supporting means, abutments movably supported in cooperative relation to the said stationary work supporting means against which the work is piled, push bars which are adapted to engage the said Work and cause step by step movement thereof upon -the said stationary Work supporting means, and means for causing reciprocatory movements of the said push bars.

' GUSTAF L. FISK. 

